Clarke beats English, but the voters are split

By SCOTT MacLEOD

He floated like a butterfly and he stung like one too, but Bill English won over the Fight for Life crowd in a gutsy fight with an old university chum.

Stepping appropriately into the blue corner, the National Party leader looked decidedly less nuggety than his rival, entertainer Ted Clarke - finally unmasked as the Psyclone.

English seemed nervous but also pumped up as he danced in the corner of the ring before his debut in the charity boxing event.

Clarke cut loose with a flurry of roundhouse swings in the opening round.

But English kept jabbing with his left and sneaked the odd one through.

The fight of the night became a fumble in the jungle as exhaustion overcame the boxers in the third round.

English's face was puffy from repeated blows, and blood trickled from his nostrils, but still he lurched forward for more.

The fight ended with a huge roar from the crowd and a standing ovation. Clarke won on a split decision.

After the bout, Clarke, who made his entrance to the ring playing a harmonica, said English was always a "tough nut".

"He's as tough now as he was at 19," said the musician.

It seemed no one had picked Clarke to be the mysterious Psyclone, giving the organisers a clever ringside device to keep the show in the headlines.

English said the fight was "hard work" - but he had been inspired by seeing sporting heroes putting their bodies on the line for charity.

For the crowd at the North Shore Events Centre, it seemed the smell of bloodsport was the perfect way to draw New Zealanders together.

From the opening bout, it was an incongruous event - grown men trying to beat each other in the interests of saving young lives.

But for "Raging" Bill English the night earned money for suicide prevention and maybe a few votes.